Spring preview ends, March reality check

Call this week a meteorological speed bump.

Our remarkable and unseasonable warmth comes to an end today as a cold front sails south through Minnesota. But not before a record-breaking Sunday capped off the warmest March week in three years.

Minnesota rode the northern edge of an unmistakable bubble of record warmth Sunday.

The first 70 degree temp of the year at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport comes nearly a month early this year. The average date of the first 70  is April 13.

The list of record highs from Sunday is long. Here are a few.

• 64 degrees at Duluth

• 70 degrees at MSP Airport, St. Cloud and Grand Forks

• 75 degrees at Fargo

March reality check

It's back to March reality today as a cold front slides south through Minnesota. Two steps forward, one step back. That's how spring works in Minnesota.

Here's the set-up. Today's cold front brings an air mass that's much closer to typical for mid-March. Watch the big blue H drift south over Minnesota the next 48 hours.

North of the front today, a few rain showers.

Here's a closer look at the week ahead. Temps return much closer to, but still mostly above, average for mid-March. The average high for the Twin Cities this week: 42 degrees.

After a chilly weekend with highs in the 30s, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model suggests a quick warm-up back into the 60s again next week.

Stay tuned. After a few chilly speed bumps spring may be determined to stick around early this year.